Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
{{Short description|Major League Baseball award}}
{{about|the regular season award|other MVP awards given by MLB}}
{{Infobox sports award
| name = Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP)
| image = National-league-most-valuable-player-award 2015.jpg
| alt = A black circle with an octagonal read "KENESAW MOUNTAIN LANDIS MEMORIAL BASEBALL AWARD". In the middle of the octagon is a baseball diamond which contains, from the top, Judge Landis' face in gold, "Most Valuable Player", the winner's league, his name in a gold rectangle, and his team.
| caption = The 2015 National League Most Valuable Player Award
| sport = Baseball
| league = Major League Baseball
| givenfor = Regular season most valuable player of American League and National League
| presenter = Baseball Writers' Association of America
| country = United States, Canada
| first = 1931
| mostrecent = Shohei Ohtani (NL)
Aaron Judge (AL)
}}The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) since 1931.
History
Since 1931, the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) has bestowed a most valuable player award to a player in the National League and a player in the American League. Before 1931, two similar awards were issued: the League Award was issued during 1922–1928 in the American League and during 1924–1929 in the National League.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_lge.shtml |title=League Award |website=Baseball Almanac |access-date=October 29, 2023}} During 1911–1914, the Chalmers Award was issued to a player in each league.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/awards/aw_chalm.shtml |title=Chalmers Award |website=Baseball Almanac |access-date=October 29, 2023}} Criteria and a list of winners for these two earlier awards are detailed in below sections.
MVP voting takes place before the postseason, but the results are not announced until after the World Series. The BBWAA began by polling three writers in each league city in 1938, reducing that number to two per league city in 1961.Gillette & Palmer, pp. 1764–1765 The BBWAA does not offer a clear-cut definition of what "most valuable" means, instead leaving the judgment to the individual voters.{{cite news |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |title=Where Do You Find Value? Discussing the M.V.P. Criteria |date=September 4, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |page=SP3 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/sports/baseball/blue-jays-bautista-and-yankees-granderson-discuss-mvp-criteria.html?scp=1&sq=baseball%20mvp&st=cse |access-date=September 6, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027083831/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/sports/baseball/blue-jays-bautista-and-yankees-granderson-discuss-mvp-criteria.html?scp=1&sq=baseball%20mvp&st=cse |archive-date=October 27, 2014 }}For the definition that appears on the BBWAA ballot (including pitchers and designated hitters), go to [http://bbwaa.com/voting-faq/ Voting FAQ] and scroll down. Baseball Writers' Association of America. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
In 1944, the award was named after Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first Commissioner of Baseball, who served from 1920 until his death on November 25, 1944.{{cite web|title=Landis, Kenesaw|publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/landis-kenesaw|access-date=2011-11-22|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20111122191002/http://baseballhall.org/hof/landis-kenesaw|archive-date=2011-11-22}}{{cite book|last=Gillette|first=Gary|author2=Palmer, Pete|title=The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia|publisher=Sterling Publishing Co|location=New York|year=2007|edition=Fourth|page=1763|isbn=978-1-4027-4771-7}} Formally named the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award, that naming appeared on a plaque given to winning players.{{cite web |date=November 2006 |title=MLB Award Trophies and Plaques |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-kenesaw-mountain-landis-memorial-baseball-award-news-photo/72458556 |access-date=October 29, 2023 |website=Getty Images}} Starting in 2020, Landis' name no longer appears on the MVP plaque,{{cite news |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2021/4/13/22381960/jose-abreu-white-sox-mvp-chants-hitting-groove |title='MVP' chants ahead of MVP hitting groove for White Sox' Jose Abreu |first=Daryl |last=Van Schouwen |website=Chicago Sun Times |date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=October 29, 2023}} after the BBWAA received complaints from several former MVP winners about Landis' role against the integration of MLB.{{cite news |last=Adler |first=David |date=July 1, 2020 |title=Former MVPs want Landis removed from plaque |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/players-support-kenesaw-mountain-landis-name-off-mvp-award |access-date=October 29, 2023 |website=MLB.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/kenesaw-mountain-landis-name-removed-mvp-trophies |title=Landis' name to be removed from MVP trophies |first=Matt |last=Kelly |website=MLB.com |date=October 2, 2020 |access-date=October 29, 2023}}
First basemen, with 35 winners, have won the most MVPs among infielders, followed by second basemen (16), third basemen (15), and shortstops (15). Of the 25 pitchers who have won the award, 15 are right-handed while 10 are left-handed. Walter Johnson, Carl Hubbell, and Hal Newhouser are the only pitchers who have won multiple times, with Newhouser winning consecutively in 1944 and 1945.{{cite journal|date=December 2000|title=Major League Baseball's Most Valuable Player Award Winners|journal=Baseball Digest|publisher=Century Publishing Co.|location=Evanston, Illinois|volume=59|issue=12|pages=86–89|issn=0005-609X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=my0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86|access-date=December 29, 2009}}{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml |title=Walter Johnson Statistics and History |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=2016-01-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508121736/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnswa01.shtml |archive-date=2018-05-08 }}
Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, Alex Rodriguez, Robin Yount, and Shohei Ohtani have won at different positions, while Rodriguez is the only player who has won the award with two different teams at two different positions, and Ohtani the only one to do it at two positions in the same season (twice).{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrial01.shtml|title=Alex Rodriguez Statistics|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712225632/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrial01.shtml|archive-date=July 12, 2010}} Rodriguez and Andre Dawson are the only players to win the award while on a last-place team, the 2003 Texas Rangers and 1987 Chicago Cubs, respectively. Barry Bonds has won the most often (seven times) and the most consecutively (four from 2001 to 2004).{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml|title=Barry Bonds Statistics|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110703020046/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml|archive-date=July 3, 2011}} Jimmie Foxx was the first player to win multiple times.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/foxxji01.shtml|title=Jimmie Foxx Statistics|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412052533/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/foxxji01.shtml|archive-date=April 12, 2009}} Ten players have won three times, and 19 have won twice.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp_cya.shtml|title=Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109123655/http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp_cya.shtml|archive-date=January 9, 2010}} Frank Robinson and Shohei Ohtani are the only players to win the award in both the American and National Leagues, with Ohtani being the first to win in both leagues in consecutive seasons.
The award's only tie occurred in the National League in 1979, when Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell received an equal number of points.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1979.shtml|title=Baseball Awards Voting for 1979|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 28, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330113241/http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1979.shtml|archive-date=March 30, 2009}} There have been 23 unanimous winners, who received all the first-place votes. The New York Yankees have the most winning players with 24, followed by the St. Louis Cardinals with 21 winners. The award has never been presented to a member of the following three teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and Tampa Bay Rays.
In recent decades, pitchers have rarely won the award. When Ohtani won the AL award in 2021, he became the first pitcher in either league to be named the MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014, and the first in the American League since Justin Verlander in 2011. Ohtani also became the first two-way player to win the award {{cite news |last=Yomtov |first=Jesse |date=November 18, 2021 |title=Angels star Shohei Ohtani is unanimous American League MVP, becoming first two-way player to win |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/11/18/shohei-ohtani-wins-al-mvp-los-angeles-angels/8667555002/ |work=USA Today}} and in 2023, he became the first player in MLB history to win MVP by unanimous vote twice.{{Cite web |title=Shohei Ohtani first player to win MVP by unanimous vote twice |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2023-11-16/shohei-ohtani-wins-2023-american-league-mvp-angels |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=November 17, 2023 |archive-date=November 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117032419/https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2023-11-16/shohei-ohtani-wins-2023-american-league-mvp-angels |url-status=live }} Since the creation of the Cy Young Award in 1956, he is the only pitcher to win an MVP award without winning a Cy Young in the same year (Don Newcombe, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Willie Hernández, Roger Clemens, Dennis Eckersley, Verlander, and Kershaw all won a Cy Young award in their MVP seasons). Ohtani is also the only MVP winner to have played most of his games as a designated hitter (DH), a position that normally does not contribute on defense. In 2024, after winning his third career unanimous MVP award, Ohtani became the first MVP winner to have played exclusively as a DH in a season. To date, Ohtani is the only player to win both the MVP and the Edgar Martínez Award, an award given to the most outstanding DH in a season.
There was no award given by either league in 1930, which meant that one of the single greatest performances ever went unheralded when Hack Wilson of the Chicago Cubs set the current MLB record for RBI with 191.{{Cite web |last=Kachline |first=Clifford S. |date=2001 |title=Hack Wilson’s 191st RBI: A Persistent Itch Finally Scratched |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/hack-wilsons-191st-rbi-a-persistent-itch-finally-scratched/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Society for American Baseball Research}} He also batted .356 and set the NL record with 56 HRs, a record which stood for 68 years until Mark McGwire (70) and Sammy Sosa (66) both eclipsed him.{{Cite news |date=1998-09-02 |title=BASEBALL; Finally, a Match for Wilson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/02/sports/baseball-finally-a-match-for-wilson.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=CHC@PIT: Sosa becomes single-season Cubs homer leader {{!}} 09/04/1998 |url=https://www.mlb.com/video/sosa-s-57th-home-run-of-1998-c2449474583 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=MLB.com |language=en}}
Key
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|Year
|Links to the article about the corresponding Major League Baseball season |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"|{{dagger}}
|Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a playerGillette & Palmer, pp. 1755–1760{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof.shtml|title=Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=December 3, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104093600/http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof.shtml|archive-date=January 4, 2010}} |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#cfecec;"|^
|Player is still active{{ref label|Number|a|a}} |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|§ |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|Player {{small|(X)}}
|Denotes winning player and number of times they had won the award at that point |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center|*
|Team won the league pennant |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|P
|Pitcher (RHP indicates right-handed; LHP indicates left-handed) |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|C |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|1B |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|2B |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|3B |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|SS |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|OF |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"|DH |
Chalmers Award (1911–1914)
{{anchor|Chalmers Award}}
File:Ty-Cobb-1913-NPC-detail-1.jpeg
Before the 1910 season, Hugh Chalmers of Chalmers Automobile announced he would present a Chalmers Model 30 automobile to the player with the highest batting average in Major League Baseball at the end of the season. The 1910 race for best average in the American League was between the Detroit Tigers' widely disliked{{cite news |last=Doyle |first=Havey |date=July 4, 1941 |title=Mirrors of Sport |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-mirrors-of-sport/155648201/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014142.html|title=He was a pain ... but a great pain|last=Schwartz|first=Larry|work=ESPN.com|access-date=January 19, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003064854/http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014142.html|archive-date=October 3, 2009}} Ty Cobb and Nap Lajoie of the Cleveland Indians. On the last day of the season, Lajoie overtook Cobb's batting average with seven bunt hits against the St. Louis Browns.{{cite web |last1=Queen |first1=Mike |title=Embarrassing Baseball Scandals Fans Want to Forget |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2023/07/embarrassing-baseball-scandals-fans-want-to-forget/ |website=Headlines and Heroes: Newspapers, Comics and More Fine Print [Blog] |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=17 August 2023 |date=11 July 2023}} American League President Ban Johnson said a recalculation showed that Cobb had won the race anyway, and Chalmers ended up awarding cars to both players.
In the following season, Chalmers created the Chalmers Award. A committee of baseball writers was to convene after the season to determine the "most important and useful player to the club and the league." Since the award was not as effective at advertising as Chalmers had hoped, it was discontinued after 1914.
League Awards (1922–1929)
{{anchor|League Awards}}
In 1922, the American League created a new award to honor "the baseball player who is of the greatest all-around service to his club."{{cite web|url=http://www.mlb.com/players/rodriguez_alex/article.jsp?story=111405b|title=One of a kind: Another MVP for A-Rod|last=Newman|first=Mark|date=November 14, 2009|work=MLB.com|access-date=December 5, 2009|archive-date=March 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312161719/http://www.mlb.com/players/rodriguez_alex/article.jsp?story=111405b|url-status=dead}} Winners, voted on by a committee of eight baseball writers chaired by James Crusinberry,{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0qshAAAAIBAJ&pg=5771,1741643|title=Rogers Hornsby Voted Most Valuable Player in National League|last=Gould|first=Alan|date=December 8, 1929|work=Reading Eagle|access-date=January 6, 2010}} received a bronze medal and a cash prize.{{cite news |date=December 8, 1929 |title=Player Award Goes to Hornsby again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/12/08/archives/player-award-goes-to-hornsby-again-cub-second-baseman-voted-most.html |work=The New York Times |page=S2}} Voters were required to select one player from each team, and player-coaches and prior award winners were ineligible. Famously, these criteria resulted in Babe Ruth winning only a single MVP award before it was dropped after 1928. The National League award, without these restrictions, lasted from 1924 to 1929. In 1929, The Sporting News began awarding the The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award, albeit with the first year being for the American League only. The voting system from before also did their own balloting on an unofficial level. Lew Fonseca was voted unofficial AL MVP while Al Simmons won The Sporting News MVP. The 1930 season saw unofficial votes for both leagues alongside the Sporting News doing their own awards. Joe Cronin and Bill Terry were voted the Sporting News MVP while Cronin and Hack Wilson won the unofficial BBWAA vote. Famously, the Hall of Fame plaques for both Cronin and Terry mention them as the Most Valuable Player in 1930.https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/2024/01/unofficial-mvps-from-1929-1930-added-to-baseball-reference/
BBWAA Most Valuable Player (1931–present)
The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) was first awarded the modern MVP after the 1931 season, adopting the format the National League used to distribute its league award. One writer in each city with a team filled out a ten-place ballot, with ten points for the recipient of a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, and so on. In 1938, the BBWAA raised the number of voters to three per city and gave 14 points for a first-place vote. The only significant change since then occurred in 1961 when the number of voters was reduced to two per league city.
File:Jimmie Foxx 1937 cropped.jpg
File:Hank Greenberg 1937 cropped.jpg
File:Alex Rodriguez Talking.jpg
File:DSC05863 Albert Pujols.jpg
File:Miguel Cabrera batting against Angels (2012-09-09).JPG
File:Dodgers_at_Nationals_(53677192000)_(cropped).jpg
Multiple MVP Winners
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Player
! # of Awards ! Years |
|---|
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Barry|Bonds}}
|7 | 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Yogi|Berra}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
|rowspan=11 style="text-align:center;" |3 | 1951, 1954, 1955 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Roy|Campanella}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1951, 1953, 1955 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Joe|DiMaggio}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1939, 1941, 1947 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Jimmie|Foxx}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1932, 1933, 1938 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Mickey|Mantle}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1956, 1957, 1962 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Stan|Musial}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1943, 1946, 1948 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Shohei|Ohtani}}
| 2021, 2023, 2024 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Albert|Pujols}}
| 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Alex|Rodriguez}}
| 2003, 2005, 2007 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Mike|Schmidt}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1980, 1981, 1986 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Mike|Trout}}
| 2014, 2016, 2019 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Ernie|Banks}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
|rowspan=22 style="text-align:center;" |2 | 1958, 1959 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Johnny|Bench}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1970, 1972 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center| {{sortname|Miguel|Cabrera}}
| 2012, 2013 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1928, 1934 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Lou|Gehrig}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1927, 1936 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Juan|González|dab=baseball}}
| 1996, 1998 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Hank|Greenberg}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1935, 1940 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Bryce|Harper}}
| 2015, 2021 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Rogers|Hornsby}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1925, 1929 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Carl|Hubbell}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1933, 1936 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Walter|Johnson}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1913, 1924 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Aaron|Judge}}
| 2022, 2024 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Roger|Maris}}
| 1960, 1961 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Willie|Mays}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1954, 1965 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Joe|Morgan}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1975, 1976 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center"| {{sortname|Dale|Murphy}}
| 1982, 1983 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Hal|Newhouser}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1944, 1945 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Cal|Ripken Jr.}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1983, 1991 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Frank|Robinson}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1961, 1966 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Frank|Thomas}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1993, 1994 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Ted|Williams}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1946, 1949 |
| scope="row" style="text-align:center; background:#ffb;"| {{sortname|Robin|Yount}} {{sup|{{dagger|alt=Hall of Fame}}}}
| 1982, 1989 |
Wins by team
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Teams | Awards | Years |
|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees
|24 |1923, 1927, 1936, 1939, 1941–1943, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954–1957, 1960–1963, 1976, 1985, 2005, 2007, 2022, 2024 | ||
| St. Louis Cardinals
|21 |1925, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1942–1944, 1946, 1948, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1979, 1985, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2022 | ||
| Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers
|15 |1913, 1924, 1941, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1974, 1988, 2014, 2019, 2024 | ||
| New York/San Francisco Giants
|14 |1912, 1933, 1936, 1954, 1965, 1969, 1989, 1993, 2000–2004, 2012 | ||
| Philadelphia/Oakland Athletics
|13 |1914, 1928, 1931–1933, 1952, 1971, 1973, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002 | ||
| Cincinnati Reds
| rowspan="3" |12 |1938–1940, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975–1977, 1995, 2010 | ||
| Detroit Tigers
| 1911, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1968, 1984, 2011–2013 | ||
| Boston Red Sox
|1912, 1938, 1946, 1949, 1958, 1967, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1995, 2008, 2018 | ||
| Chicago Cubs
|11 |1911, 1929, 1935, 1945, 1952, 1958, 1959, 1984, 1987, 1998, 2016 | ||
| Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
|9 |1914, 1947, 1957, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1999, 2020, 2023 | ||
| Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins
| rowspan="3" |8 |1913, 1924, 1925, 1965, 1969, 1977, 2006, 2009 | ||
| Pittsburgh Pirates
|1927, 1960, 1966, 1978, 1979, 1990, 1992, 2013 | ||
| Philadelphia Phillies
|1932, 1950, 1980, 1981, 1986, 2006, 2007, 2021 | ||
| California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels
|7 |1979, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023 | ||
| Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns
| rowspan="2" |6 |1922, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1983, 1991 | ||
| Texas Rangers
|1974, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2010 | ||
| Milwaukee Brewers
| rowspan="2" |5 |1981, 1982, 1989, 2011, 2018 | ||
| Chicago White Sox
|1959, 1972, 1993, 1994, 2020 | ||
| Cleveland Indians / Guardians
|3 |1926, 1948, 1953 | ||
| Seattle Mariners
| rowspan="3" |2 |1997, 2001 | ||
| Toronto Blue Jays
|1987, 2015 | ||
| Houston Astros
|1994, 2017 | ||
| Kansas City Royals
| rowspan="5" |1 |1980 | ||
| San Diego Padres
|1996 | ||
| Colorado Rockies
|1997 | ||
| Washington Nationals
|2015 | ||
| Miami Marlins
|2017 | ||
| Arizona Diamondbacks
| rowspan="3" |0 |none | ||
| New York Mets
|none | ||
| Tampa Bay Rays
|none |
See also
- "Players Choice Awards" Player of the Year (in MLB; all positions) (there are also Outstanding Player and Outstanding Pitcher awards (in each league))
- Baseball America Major League Player of the Year (in MLB; all positions)
- Baseball Digest Player of the Year (in MLB; position players only; from 1969 to 1993, included all positions; in 1994, a separate Pitcher of the Year award was added)
- Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award (in MLB; all positions)
- "GIBBY/Esurance MLB Awards" Best Major Leaguer (in MLB; all positions) (there are also Best Hitter and Best Pitcher awards) (discontinued in 2017)
- The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award (in each league) (discontinued in 1946)
- The Sporting News Player of the Year (in MLB; position players only)
- List of Major League Baseball awards
- Baseball awards
Notes
- {{note label|Number|a|a}} A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.
- {{note label|Number|b|b}} A unanimous victory indicates that the player received all possible first-place votes.
- {{note label|Number|c|c}} Torre is a member of the Hall of Fame, but not as a player. He was inducted in {{bhofy|2014}} as a manager.{{cite web |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/torre-joe |title=Joe Torre |publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |access-date=November 13, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20141115133605/http://baseballhall.org/hof/torre-joe |archive-date=November 15, 2014 }}
- {{note label|Number|d|d}} Hernandez and Stargell both received 216 points in the 1979 voting.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|MLB Most Valuable Player Award}}
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mvp_cya.shtml Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners] (1911–present) (and "Multiple Winners of the MVP and Cy Young Awards"). Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
{{MLB awards}}
{{AL MVPs}}
{{NL MVPs}}
{{featured list}}